IMBA CANADA Blog

Congratulations to Mark Battiston for winning the Chumba frame at the East Coast DH Open this weekend. Special thanks to Renegade Cycle Solutions, Chumba Racing and X-Fusion for donating the frame and shock, and raising $650 for IMBA Canada! Also a big thank you to Pete and the guys at Sirbikealot Racing who ran a great race and made the raffle possible.

“Renegade Cycle Solutions stands behind IMBA and it’s supporters. We offer a 10% discount to all active IMBA members on all our products.”

The first official IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew school was with the St. Lawrence Islands National Park. Attendees consisted of twenty-nine diverse individuals representing national parks, volunteer stewards, hikers, cyclists, equestrians, skiers and snowshoers. We even had a paddler present. Our “conference room” at Craiger’s Resort came equipped with a full wet bar and a disco ball though we were unable to incorporate these into the presentation.

Our first lecture went smoothly and everyone was excited to proceed outdoors for some practical experience. We split into two groups so that those who were only able to attend the first day could practice some building techniques. The task chosen was a small bench cut demonstration on existing trail.

On the second day rain threatened to cancel the proceedings. Eight hardy workers arrived and we collectively decided that everyone wanted to carry on as planned. The tree canopy actually protected us very well and the lower temperature was welcomed after days of exhausting heat. A few hours were spent on an armouring demonstration where high water flow on a steep section of trail created a threat of erosion. A small trail reroute was planned to avoid even steeper slopes and to provide hikers with better views of trees and water. Being a national park, there will be some steps that need to be taken before the new route can be established and the old one closed. The overall benefit to the users will be well worth it and we desperately hope it gets approved.

Our week at St. Lawrence Islands was a success. Staff that we worked with from Parks Canada embraced our way of thinking about trail design and the volunteers have a new respect for the work required to produce quality trail.

Paul Bruneau from Parks Canada and his wife Shannon were our hosts in Kemptville and we couldn’t get enough of their hospitality. We owe them so much.

Go to Joyride150!

I don’t know what else I can say about this unique indoor riding centre in Markham, Ontario. The warehouse features an 800 meter cross country track, jump park, bmx park, pump tracks, foam pit and progressive technical features. The claimed average visit length is six hours and riders of all ages, abilities and disciplines frequent the site. Three year old children on run bikes can begin learning balance while older siblings practice jumping. Even a parent who races cross country can do laps on varied surfaces to hone their skills. At the end of the day, it’s often Dad who has to be dragged out of the building, kicking and screaming, as he begs for just one more hour.

After getting in some quality ride and work time in Kitchener, Ontario we headed North to the Bruce Peninsula for a few days to meet with the Bruce County Crew. After a quick photo opportunity at the statue of Wiarton Willie, the world famous groundhog, we headed out to visit the Bruce Peninsula Mountain Bike Adventure Park. We were able to ride the Park on Sunday morning and were astounded at how fun and technically challenging the trails were. This park, located just minutes away from Wiarton, has had to remove their wooden structures due to insurance reasons. Many of the Park’s users are still angry at the municipality for removing the structures, but what these users aren’t aware of is how lucky they are to still have access to the trails. The Adventure Park may not be what it used to be, but it’s still a great place to ride, and will soon have a new pump track to add to the fun factor.

The Mountain Bike Adventure Park is not the only place to ride on the peninsula. We headed out on Friday to help out the dedicated trail crew on the Brandt Tract. There was one trail that has consistent water problems and the crew was kind enough to let us test out a method of armoring in one of these problem sections. Since the soil type is mainly clay with absolutely no rock to speak of we decided to try wood piles in the ground to add tread texture and hopefully keep water from creating a slick clay pit in that area.

On Saturday morning after a very successful visit at the Bruce Peninsula National Park, we managed to get in a ride at the Lindsay Tract. This area began its development in 2008 and currently has about 8-10 kilometers of tight and twisty singletrack on it. It will quickly become a great riding destination within the next few years especially since it’s located near the campgrounds at the National Park.

We didn’t get the opportunity to ride the Brant Tract or Carrick Tract but that just means we’re going to have to come back.

A huge thank you to our amazing hosts Chris and Marta Laforest for providing us with amazing food, a bed to sleep on and letting us play with the potato canon. A special thank you to Andy, Ed, Ken, Ben and Sarah for putting in your hard work on the trails.

Renegade Cycle Solutions, the distributor of Chumba Racing and X-Fusion Shox, will raffle off a brand new Chumba Racing F5 frame outfitted with an X-Fusion Vector HLR shock to benefit IMBA Canada. Get all the details in their press release.

Vancouver Island, BC - Renegade Cycle Solutions (RCS)  is committed wholeheartedly to the philosophy that everybody who rides off-road should support IMBA, either by donation or trail maintenance or both.  We recently made the commitment to offer any IMBA Canada member 10% off any product we distribute. Now we are going one step further.

July 23-25 is the East Coast Open DH Race at Blue Mountain Resort (Ontario) promoted by Sirbikealot Racing. At this first-of-its-kind historic race we will raffle off a brand new Chumba Racing F5 frame outfitted with an X-Fusion Vector HLR shock, (MSRP $2600 CDN). Tickets are just $5 each or 3 for $10 with all proceeds going directly to IMBA Canada.

RCS and Chumba both support grassroots racing, so get off your couch and hit the slopes. While you are there, why not buy a few tickets, pickup a new ride and help a cause close to every rider’s heart.

Check out bluemountain.ca, sirbikealotracing.com, and r-c-s.ca.

The sun was shining on Saturday July3rd in Toronto because MEC was hosting its biggest Bikefest yet. The event was located downtown within walking distance of the CN tower. We were surrounded by over a dozen other vendors including CAA, Bike Train, Keen, Hardwood Hills, Get Out There Magazine, and right across was Chucks Burgers who was serving up mini bacon cheeseburgers. We had about 50 people stop by our booth just to chat and find out what we are about.

There were many excellent sessions on topics like bike safety in the city, repair and maintenance, cycle touring and the Can Bike course for the kids. Many people took advantage of the free tune-ups courtesy of Bike Sauce.  Unfortunately we couldn’t stay to enjoy the free music and the beer gardens however we had a productive day and can’t wait to join MEC at their Bikefests again next year.

Last week the Ministry of the Environment released the official announcement of their partnership with the Trans Canada Trail and IMBA Canada to fund the first Canadian Trail Care Crew. The program was kept under wraps until the press release but anyone following IMBA Canada online knows we’ve been on the road for a month now. You’ll be hearing from us on a regular basis now that we’re beginning our official weekly visits.

We spent the first two weeks of June in Vermont following one of the American trail care crews Chris and Leslie Kehmeier. We wanted to see how they organized their presentations and gain a feel for the logistics of a weekend visit. They helped immensely with our preparations for life on the road and we can’t thank them enough for their mentorship and camaraderie.

Phase two of our preparations involved a week in East Hereford, Quebec. Under the guidance of Jerome Pelland, the IMBA Quebec representative and owner of Sentiers Boreal, we focused on machine building techniques. We stayed at a farmhouse in a remote location and spent our days flagging trails, practicing with a mini-excavator and laboring in the mud. It rained almost every day and we’ve never gone through so much laundry in such a short period of time.

Finally, we’ve been zigzagging across southern Ontario for several days. We attended the Ontario Trails Commission conference in Toronto where we networked with members of the Professional Trail Builders Association and met representatives from various trail organizations. After touring a few bike parks we’re now camped out with Lora Woolner in Kitchner for a few days to recharge and maybe clean out the Subaru before our next visit.

Last weekend, IMBA Canada set up a booth with the Ottawa Mountain Bike Association (OMBA) at the Mountain Equipment Co-op Bikefest in Ottawa. Drawing about 850 attendees, the second annual event included bike trials, safety clinics, live music, and a unicycle trials competition.

A big thanks to everyone who came out to say hello, and ask about trails in Ottawa!

With summer getting started, Mountain Equipment Co-op stores across Canada are gearing up to host Bikefests. These one-day, family-friendly events celebrate all things cycling. They feature demonstrations, clinics, cycling vendors, and opportunities to try out gear and test ride new bikes.

IMBA Canada set up a booth at the Burlington, Ontario Bikefest on June 6, and despite the ominous weather a number of enthusiastic cyclists came out to check out the festivities and show their support for biking initiatives of all types.

Special thanks to Kieran O’Halloran and Shana Payne for volunteering their time to help in the booth.

Risk Management Workshop
Kincardine, ON

After wrapping things up in Riding Mountain National Park, Daniel Scott jumped back on a plane and this time headed to Kincardine, Ontario to work with the Municipality of Kincardine on their local mountain bike park, the Inverhuron Bike Park.  IMBA Canada’s goal was to work with the municipal employees in developing a better understanding of risk management through design within the context of their local project.

Kincardine is one of many communities along Lake Huron which is working to provide mountain bikers with multiple riding opportunities.  One of their more recent projects has been the development of a bike skills park & adjacent trail system complete with dirt jumps, learning squares, basic basic trail and three technical trails of increasing difficulty.

Three years ago, former IMBA trail specialist Mark Schmidt traveled to Kincardine and ran a workshop.  The result of that workshop was staff with a better understanding of sustainable build techniques and the construction of a filter for one of the advanced trails, “2 Smokes, Let’s Go”. Fast forward and the area has seen dramatic growth.  With this growth however, came new concerns as to whether or not the Municipality of Kincardine was doing everything it could to ensure that its facility was as safe as it could be.

Throughout the week, Dave, Andrew (the builders) and Daniel walked through the trails examining every detail imaginable.  They then attempted to foresee as many possible rider situations as possible for each detail in order to design safety measures which would reduce the possibility of injury.  The staff quickly learned to develop a critical eye for identifying potential hazards while reaffirming their knowledge of sustainable trail construction methods.

IMBA Canada strongly believes that bike parks and technical trails are important parts of our sport.  We continue to work with pro park builders and land managers on better understanding the benefits of these parts and the risk management tools that assist in making them a viable part of a healthy mountain biking environment.

For anyone in Ontario looking to do a fun mountain bike road trip, consider making the trek to the Bruce / Huron area as there are fantastic opportunities for various disciplines of riding, not to mention fantastic beaches and more!  Oh, and if you happen to be a Trailer Park Boys fan, you’ll undoubtedly appreciate the theme of the trails at Inverhuron.